Chart 38 Fed has raised rates 13 times over the past 18 months: The Fed is surgically targeting the housing market.
Notes: For 2005, the figure is an estimate from the Mortgage Bankers Association.
Adjustable-rate mortgage (ARM) percentage was at 10-year lows in both 1998
and 2001 at 12 percent. ARM percentage was at a 10-year high in 2004 at 35
percent. Currently, ARM percentage has decreased by 14 percent from its previous
high to 30 percent. |